Sharing the Universe

2025-04-02 / Diana Yoder / School Districts

School Districts Leveraging Planetariums for STEM Education

It's no secret that a planetarium is an amazing tool to engage your students. Ask a room full of scientists or engineers, and I'll bet you that at least a third of them have a memory of a strange inflatable ball visiting their elementary school and showing them the stars, or can reminisce over going on a field trip to an eerily dark room that took them on a trip through the solar system.

Planetariums have been shaping the field of STEM professionals for decades. By bringing students to such a unique experience, we are igniting that spark of curiosity that will shape their career and life long interests.

With rising costs associated with field trips or inviting outside guests to your school, and the increasing difficulty in scheduling events around your curriculum, it can be difficult to provide these kinds of experiences to your students.

School District Planetariums

It may come as a surprise to some, but school districts across the country have found a way around these problems. There are hundreds of planetariums, both big and small, hiding in our schools and educating our students. Determining the exact number of planetariums out there is surprisingly difficult. It's estimated that there are at least 4,000 planetariums in the world, with an estimated ⅓ of those existing inside a K-12 school building of some sort¹.

Regardless of the exact number, it's safe to say that the existing school planetariums are working. Windsor Public Schools in Connecticut is just one example of how a single, portable planetarium can change the way they engage with students. You can read all about their story on the Windsor Public Schools website.

The P-Tech Planetarium in Paterson, NJ has been a resource for the district's students for over two decades. The fixed planetarium within the high school was established in 2004. The programming there has been so beneficial to the students, that they recently went through a complete renovation of the system and programming. In addition to their fixed planetarium, they also have a portable planetarium that is able to visit all of the schools in the district. While Paterson is a walking district and busing isn't required to bring students to the fixed planetarium, it's not always feasible to bring the younger students out on a field trip. Instead, the portable comes out to the elementary school and presents live, interactive shows for every grade level.

The enhanced programming has been extremely beneficial for the district and has even led to the Planetarium Director, Dr Carlos Miranda, publishing an article in the International Planetarium Society's annual conference proceedings. “Stellar Literacy: A planetarium-based intervention for enhancing elementary student's literacy skills through targeted needs assessment and engaging programming” was well received at the conference in Berlin, Germany and Dr. Miranda hopes to continue this vein of research with a study of using the planetarium to tackle chronic absenteeism. You can read more about his research within the IPS 2024 Proceedings.

Challenges

Some schools are lucky enough to have a fixed planetarium built into their structure, many of which were built during the peak of the space race in the 1960's. But the costs associated with building a dedicated room for the planetarium are often too daunting for your average school. That's why the integration of a portable planetarium has been so game-changing.

For as little as $40,000, schools can acquire everything they need to start their own planetarium program. This single planetarium can visit every school in your district throughout the school year and reach as many students as you'd like. With the median school district enrollment of ~3,000 and an expected life span of 10 years for the equipment, that is a cost of less than $2 per student².

But of course, we all know that not all grades have astronomy learning standards. Curriculum covering the planets, solar system, and our universe are usually reserved for specific grade levels that vary by state. However, a planetarium is so much more than a Space Sciences tool. With today's technology and powerful software, we can explore Earth Sciences in a way we couldn't before. Take a space view of our planet and zoom into geographical features, understand where and why volcanoes and earthquakes occur, track weather patterns and animal migrations. Students can even explore the social sciences or language arts through mythology and storytelling.

A planetarium is an extremely adaptive environment and can be used in applications well beyond your simple night sky tour. In the planetarium, you are only limited by your imagination and dedication. The universe is truly at your fingertips. Why not share it with everyone?

For Educators By Educators.

Digitalis has been working with school districts and educational service centers since our founding in 2003. We understand the hurdles that educators have to overcome in order to convince their administrators and community that an investment in a planetarium is an investment in their students' future.

If you'd like to learn more about how other school districts have integrated a planetarium into their curriculum, check out our list of Planetarium Leaders. These are leaders in the planetarium community who are defining how we educate with these unique pieces of technology. Many of these leaders operate a fixed or portable planetarium within a school district.

If you are ready to start your school down the path to immersive, engaging, and interactive STEM learning, reach out to our team.

Resources

1. Schultz, Sara K., & Slater, Timothy F., "Who Are The Planetarians? A Demographic Survey Of Planetarium-Based Astronomy Educators," Journal of Astronomy & Earth Sciences Education. Volume 7, Number 1 (2020), https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1271013.pdf

2. Maciag, Mike, "'Fragmented' School Districts: A Complicated and Controversial Issue," Governing.com, https://www.governing.com/archive/gov-fragmented-school-districts-consolidation.html